The Detroit Culture Council is a public convening ignited by artists and cultural leaders addressing the growing need for a Detroit department of cultural affairs. The first in a series artist curated dialogue, the inaugural event hosted at the ONE Mile garage brought together leading arts advocates, curators, policy makers, educators, philanthropic organizations, and cultural activists to collectively project the shape and aspirations such an entity might take in Detroit.

For the occasion of the first convening, we created a pop symbol and architectural threshold in the form of a gold arch. Composed of architectural replicas, art objects, and landscape elements, the 21-foot nomadic arch playfully pays tribute to the enduring allure of Detroit’s popular aesthetics and serves as a sign to temporarily transform existing sites into stately public institutions.

Nomadic Detroit Culture Council, 2016

Detroit, Michigan

Principals:

Anya Sirota

Jean Louis Farges

In collaboration with:

Detroit Culture Council, Power House Productions, Afrotopia, ONE Mile, DAMI

Project team:

Jonathan Watkins

Sam Okolita

With assistance from:

Christopher Holder, Lindsey Karasik, Eric Howard

Thanks and support:

Creative Many, Resonant Detroit and the University of Michigan Office of Research